loyally,
and I'm going to give you half a crown out of the prize money. I shall
save the rest to buy some really good White Leghorns; Mrs. Hodges says
they lay better than any others in the winter. Oh, here's Father! We
must go and tell him of our success."

CHAPTER XIII

The Shoe Pinches

The very first thing which Gwen did, when Winnie had given her the
promised half-crown out of the prize money, was to go straight to the
post office and buy a postal order for that amount and a penny stamp.
She possessed a few odd coppers, but otherwise no funds had come her
way for a long time, and she had been growing very uneasy about the
bill which she still owed to Parker's for the broken china. She now
sent them the postal order, with a note saying that she hoped very
soon to settle the remainder of the account, and begging them to wait
a little longer. She also asked them to return her a receipt addressed
"c/o Miss Netta Goodwin, The Thorns, Manor Road, Stedburgh".

"I dare say Netta'll be angry, and call it cheek on my part, but I
can't help it," thought Gwen. "I daren't get another letter sent to
school after the rowing Miss Roscoe gave me, and if it comes home,
Beatrice will want to know who's been writing to me. It's only fair
that Netta should take a little of the bother on her own shoulders.
She's certainly had the best of it in this affair. Oh, dear, I still
owe Parker's ten shillings. I haven't the ghost of a notion how I'm to
pay it!"

Gwen could not forgive Netta for appropriating her prize essay. She
still felt indignant whenever she thought about it, especially as
there was always an uneasy sensation of guilt on her own part. She
knew it was not a straight transaction, and poor Gwen, with all her
faults, loved straightness. For lack of other friendships at school
she was forced into companionship with Netta, but she never
whole-heartedly liked her. Lately, especially, Netta had taken a
rather high-handed tone, and was apt to order her chum about in a
manner that Gwen's independent spirit greatly resented. The friction
between the two was sometimes hot, but neither cared to risk a
quarrel, for each knew that the other, if turned into an enemy, might
come out with some decidedly awkward revelations. So they went on in
the old way, squabbling continually over trifles and making it up
again, but on the whole ready to stand up for each other against the
rest of the Form. Yes, alack!--the rest of the Form,